Bud Talkinghorn: Martin Launches His Good Ship Democratic Deficit, "Non" to Chirac, & More

Martin has launched his Good Ship Democratic Deficit under full steam

How quickly any pretence that Martin was going to reduce the democratic deficit disappeared. Other than authorizing the Gomery Inquiry--which he had no choice except to do--he has almost outdone his autocratic predecessor, Jean Chretien. Like Chretien, he has relied on porking up the electorate, along with stuffing the generally moribund Senate with people like Art Eggleton. What does it say, when a guy, who was forced out of the Cabinet for a blatant attempt to pad his girlfriend's account with a make-work assignment, is given a Senate appointment? Indeed, an assignment so devoid of effort that it makes the Adscam boys look like workaholics.

Then there were the 450 hurried political appointments that Martin gave to his friends and the party faithful. Many of these boards, inquiries and commissions have already been criticized for the high levels of cronyism that compromise their effectiveness, e.g. the IRB. Like the Supreme Court, their major contribution has been to advance the Liberal agenda. Unbiased expertise be d***ed--we are talking realpolik here--these people put inor paid a lot of time or money to the Liberals. Now PM is into buying (illegally) the votes of the opposition. Isn't it obvious why the NDP is suddenly so interested in having the RCMP investigate the Grewal affair? They know that the Liberals have probably targetted some of their own members.

The only bright light from the last two years is that we no longer have to listen to Chretien talk about his "legacy". That he would embroil himself in the anti-democratic scandal of the Russian Yukos oil situation, after Adscam, says it all. Maybe his stakes--if any--in TotalfinaElf Oil will suddenly surge upwards. For the record, TotalfinaElf was deeply implicated in the UN oil-for-food Iraqi fraud. It is impossible to foretell how low Chretien will sink. There seems to be no bottom. As for his legacy, he should be content if his face doesn't grace the most-wanted posters at Interpol.

© Bud Talkinghorn



The French say, "Non" to Chirac.

In one of the great defeats of the elite's "visions", the common sense of the French people won out. I read a section of the gobbedygook EU constitution that Chirac tried to foist on his citizens. It was the sort of thing that some neo-Marxist NDP ideolog wishes he could write. I hope the average Frenchman feels the empowerment that I felt when I heard that the Charlottetown Accord was defeated by Canadians. Of course, along with our politicians, the French politicians will try to avoid any more direct referenda. God forbid that the proles can't be led around by the nose anymore. In Canada we can always count on the elites beating us on the head with the Charter, which, of course, only they can properly interpret. After excessive economic massaging, the mob will be allowed to vote; surely that is more than enough freedom.

What the French saw was a European constitution which would regulate for them--and all European countries--what a handful of socialist bureaucrats in Brussels thought was good for them.

For instance, the yes side wanted to bring Turkey and a number of failed Eastern European states into the union. As for the former, the French saw a huge influx of more Muslims unable to be assimilated into their country; for the latter, they saw a huge influx of Eastern Europeans either swelling their welfare rolls or undercutting them on the labour market. As we have here, the elites are so rich and well-situated that if things turn out horribly, they can remove themselves from the worst of the debacle. Unfortunately, as our cities turn into mini-Detroits, the average person cannot. As with so many of the grandiose plans of our elected, when it all turns to crap, they simply bring in the spin doctors--and their media puppets--to assure us that it will all be fixed when we re-elect them. Even now, they are out there trying to convince us that pasting a few flags on stockcars and billboards was worth the garantuan $796 million they either scammed or wasted. Well, I rarely can say this, but I will today: "Vive la France!"

© Bud Talkinghorn




Oddball news items

It has been reported that arch-terrorist Zarqawi has been seriously wounded in Iraq. Supposedly he is being treated for his injuries in Iran. Why would the ultra-Shi'ites there help a man, who publically admits to blowing up Shi'ite shrines and assassinating ordinary Shi'ite citizens? Go figure.

Then there is the case of a young Australian girl who was just sentenced to 20 years in an Indonesian jail for smuggling marijuana into the country. Well, isn't that akin to smuggling coals to Newcastle? Why would anyone bring expensive pot (a suitcase load of it, at that) to a country that floats in it? A friend told me the last time he was in Bali, the potent local brand was going for about $10 an ounce. That Colby girl was either enormously stupid or she really was set up.

© Bud Talkinghorn

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